Ruthless
by Adrasta
Summary: An Amanda Quick-ish style story hopefully. Draco and Ginny are thrown together to solve a number of life threatening occurances once a mysterious artefact arrives at malfoy manor. Protecting Ginny will be hard, but solving the mystery will be harder without her.
1. Prologue Shadows

**Disclaimer:** Obviously I do not own Harry Potter, related characters and all that jazz. JK Rowling does and the whole world knows it. Story is mine though. Please enjoy.

Prologue -

Mary sat up in bed, tense and focused. Opening all her senses she could feel a disturbance in the house. Rooms lay still, yet the energies of the protection magic swirled and rippled through the interior, reverberating off the walls to her chambers off the kitchen. They moved without a sound, silent steps on the carpet and in such a large mansion Mary couldn't have heard them anyway. She sensed the window where they had broken the magical barrier and she knew her master would have felt it too, a shift in his defenses. However, Mary could also sense their ill intent in the waves of energy. Robbery. The master had many treasures on display on the second floor. Quietly she gathered her nightgown and picked up her candle. She wondered if she might be able to discourage them. Out of her room Mary climbed the servant's stairs; short cutting past the large main halls the narrow staircase brought her up a level within the manor. The second level was still and dark because of the limited lighted candles and windowless hallways. She could sense them entering the south treasure room. Mary adjusted her path to enter through the north stairs. Avoiding the creaky steps she blew out her candle and entered the North treasure room quietly from behind a curtain concealing the servant's entrance. This room was bathed in moonlight, streaming in through large almost floor length windows. Shadows of artifacts lengthened and distorted gave the beautiful statues eerie personas. Mary was intent on not being detected by her own shadow and she stood to the side of the large archway to the South treasure room. There were only two she heightened her senses using it to block possible detection and raised her wand preparing to send them a scare when faint distorted echoes off the walls, like the magical ripples, she could hear the thoughts of the thieves. Broken and overlapping...small... new... square... black... over and over and so fast they began to merge together. They were moving about searching the shelves, almost anxiously looking for something in particular. Manually searching meant they had little or no searching powers, which also meant.

Maybe she wouldn't have to make her presence known.

Mary knew now they weren't after the rare jewels of the Malfoy family, but rather the master's new acquisition sent from a friend. This acquisition was in the second room Mary was currently occupying. Mary moved back to the room she had come from and headed towards the cabinet where the small square shaped stone lay. The master would be home soon, after feeling his spells disturbed. Clutched in her hand she ducked down as the thieves entered her room. When they were away from the doorway she headed in to the South treasure room by casting a concealing spell and moving in the shadows. Undetected Mary slipped along the main hallway to head down to the main entrance to meet Master Malfoy.

Out of the wall it seemed, a shadow appeared in candle light from the brackets on the walls, Mary couldn't help but gasp loudly. She could still sense the two thieves in the North room but this man gave no presence magical or otherwise. His face hidden in shadow he stretched out his hand and said simply.

"Hand it to me."

Shaking her head, Mary stepped away fumbling for her wand, which was caught in her dressing gown.

The man simply stepped forward too. The light made him appear to be even more of a shadow. Mary met his gaze now reflecting in the candlelight and saw the dead look in his eyes. _He has no soul_ she thought, panic overrode all her senses.

Terrified she moved quickly back again. Her foot didn't reach the ground stumbling on the top step, Mary lost her footing. A sharp pain in her ankle was followed by another one in her arm as she reached out to break her fall. A bright emerald green light lit up the stair case as Mary continued to roll down the stairs. Mary no longer felt pain.

Draco Malfoy opened his front door as the green light faded from his main staircase. His house keeper came to a stop at the end of the main stair case, her neck and wand broken and a small smooth square stone loosely rested in her palm.

A dark shadow disappeared on the top step along with a faint pulse of unique magic.


	2. Chapter One Fateful Meeting

Disclaimer: As before, no characters and similiarties between this story and Harry Potter is meant to infringe copyright. I am aware it all belongs to JK Rowling.

* * *

Draco looked up at the building from the sidewalk. The building looked well cared for and yes, he could feel the slight remittances of the artefact now he had honed his senses to the magical waves it gave off. They were so faint, more so now at night. He was sure it must be lying dormant somewhere within the buildings walls. He sent out his senses. The building was humming with other magical energies. They were strong and he had no intention of making the owner feel uncomfortable by breaching them. This was unfortunate, he had hoped the owner was a muggle so he could search under the cover of darkness. This changed his tactics; he would need to be on his guard, more so than before. The store owner may be all too aware of the artefact. Draco intended to bide his time while his informants gathered more information.

* * *

Ginny woke the next morning, tired and agitated. Her magical barriers had managed to keep thieves out of the store but it was the constant thrumming of the magical ripples that had kept her awake. She knew the barriers hadn't been breached, but someone was definitely testing them and she was ready.

Across the breakfast table she could see her father, he was looking better today; not stooped quite so low and he was eating more she had noticed. She smiled to herself. It was worth being the protector to see her father have a good night's sleep when he needed it and she was determined to stop him coming downstairs to help her in the shop today. It was going to be a quiet day she could tell.

The bell over the front door of the store rang and Draco Malfoy stepped inside breaking the quiet of the antiques store. Hat in his hand he nodded to Ginevra when he saw she was looking at him from across the store's counter. Draco couldn't sense the artefact any more inside the store than he could outside the previous night. He knew it had been too much to hope that he would walk in and find the artefact waiting for him on a shelf. However, he had expected the barriers of the store to be dulling the magical waves and that they would be stronger once he was closer. From where he was standing it was like he was surrounded by the artefact.

"May I help you find something, Sir?"

Looking down Draco caught his gaze in wide amber eyes of the shopkeeper, her red hair swept up into a bun was trying to escape giving her a youthful appearance and for a moment Draco couldn't think why he had entered the store. She smiled at him uncertain and he thought he must look like a right fool just staring at her.

"No, I am fine I should just like to take a look around."

I look flittered across her face and Draco sensed she might have been displeased, more that he wasn't going to leave rather than his not needing her help.

She moved back to the counter and picked up a cleaning rag. Draco could feel her eyes following him as he circled the store occasionally picking up items that caught his interest. In this store so many of the items on display were copies, his trained eye knew that he was really not holding an expensive vase. Each item was displayed artfully and the effect was pleasing. What really caught his eye were the books at the back of the store. Old dusty volumes filled the shelves and Draco could tell these were real antiques and could hold a lot of interesting knowledge. He hefted one of the larger volumes from the shelf and rested it against the edge of a lower shelf so he could look inside. Opening the pages brought out the musty smell of the old paper; without thinking he breathed deeply.

The volume was in an ancient language; Draco had trouble making out the old text. The pages were delicate and as he read slowly he began to understand it was an ancient legend from a far off land. Surprised he wondered how it had ended up in London and in this small store of all places. Private collectors would be interested in a volume such as this. He reached the end of the page and closed the book. While he had been reading the shop keeper had moved closer as she dusted the shelves and changed the displays. Ignoring her he shifted his stance so his back was to her, pretending to be interested in the cover of the book. He focussed his senses concentrating on the unique magical waves. He could almost sense a faintly stronger current from the bookshelf. He stood near the bookshelf again and focused his senses. Pulses. They were definitely coming from the area.

"Its in Latin." She explained "were you able to read it?"

"Just barely" replied Draco.

"Were you after Latin texts, we have a few more out the back as well if you would like to see them, Sir. More about ancient stories too although I haven't had a chance to fully look at them yet and some seem to be in a unique version of Latin almost a coded version"

Her eyes lit up as she explained these difficult text and he realised that although she may be running a shop full of fakes, she probably knew well enough the value of each item she came across. Her hands moved animatedly as she continued to recount the other ancient books, she seemed so honest. He wondered if she really knew there was an artefact in her store that had sparked the interest of someone dangerous in the magical community. Draco doubted someone who ran a shop like this would be able to gain knowledge of rare magical artefacts, none of the other displays were magically inclined and he wondered if she was magically talented enough to feel the pulse of its energy as he did. Her eyes were still on Draco and she was still caught up in her explanation of the unique Latin and he was enjoying the sound of her voice. It mixed with the vibrations of the artefact hidden out of sight. Suddenly the vibrations changed, they spiked sharply and Draco sensed it suddenly clearer.

"No, it's fine, these ones are interesting enough." said Draco cutting her off mid sentence. He realised he had become distracted again from the point of his visit and replaced the book on the shelf.

"Oh, of course Sir." She seemed to blush slightly, as if she realised she had been babbling to a perfect stranger. Draco cursed to himself as the blush made him notice her freckles more. However, she turned away quickly and moved to the counter.

Curious as to the sudden spike in vibrations Draco continued on a quick tour around the rest of the store and although never felt such a spike again. Deciding he had lingered enough he made his way to the door. The shopkeeper hadn't spoken again and Draco felt a bit abrupt after her show of enthusiasm so he thanked her before leaving the store and she politely returned his thanks though there was no trace of the warm smile of before.

She was lively he thought as he climbed into the carriage and directed his driver, probably a little headstrong too if she was easily offended, he smiled to himself. Draco silently decided to quickly resolve the issue of the artefact and to not involve the shopkeeper. He wanted it as far away from her as possible to reduce her danger of being drawn into his mess.

* * *

Later that evening after discussing the artefact and the shop that contained it with his informants, Draco returned to his manor and felt more aware of the emptiness. He wasn't disturbed about the murder although it had been tragic. He regretted he hadn't reached his mansion in time, but he knew he could not have saved her. His mother had been most insistent that night he attend a ball. As much as he regretted the death, he regretted the impact it had on his house hold staff, which were currently missing. The majority of the house hold had quickly packed up and moved on after the incident leaving his house empty the past week. Which is even more when you didn't have a lot to lose in the first place. Spending a lot of time at his club saw that he was fed. Draco was however, beginning to feel the oppressiveness of a silent home. He would advertise for a new maid and cook tomorrow he thought. He needed to have someone home to make sure his study and library fireplaces were kept lit for when he returned from his visits to his club. Nights were turning bitter and he hurried to light the fire in his library. Contemplating Miss Weasley and her mysterious artefact was going to take some time and he intended to be warm while he did so.

He moved behind a large desk and removed some brandy from the cabinet there. Pouring a generous amount he let himself relax. Draco was wondering what he should do about the artefact. He most definitely knew there was another person desperate to gain a hold of it. Yet he still had no motive. If the person was so desperate, why stop when Draco had reached his home, why not finish him off? Draco moved closer to the fire to feel its warmth. He had been over these questions since he realised his housekeeper had died protecting his artefact. Tracking down information on the stone had been his first priority, but so far limited information had been gathered. He had asked some questions, but really he was no closer to realising who was after artefacts. His men were still out doing some investigations and Draco was asking around in higher circles who might be interested in collecting a magical object.

He hadn't really considered it an important object when he had received a few days before the murder. It wasn't as attractive as some other objects and he could sense it was magical but he hadn't been able to give it his full attention. His friend who had sent the letter had been brief and just asked 'to please keep it safe for his return to London in a few weeks' and to not let anyone know he had received it. Draco hadn't questioned his friends request and had simply put it in the safest place he could think of. His treasure room. Draco doubted the word had gotten out, but rather, someone had already known it was on its way to London. Someone was after it desperately but was treating Draco cautiously as he hadn't openly been attacked. Draco however, didnt feel this caution would be considered for Miss weasley and decided to approach her about him obtaining the next artefact. He knew that it was a matter of time before his steps were traced to her and he felt he should move it away from her. Draco had no interest in collecting the artefact for the hidden magic, but this person was killing people for it and he didn't want either himself or Miss Weasley getting hurt because they had happened upon these magical artefacts. It had just been chance that he had discovered the one in Miss Weasley's store, trying to reveal the stone's secrets had opened up his hunting abilities where he had picked up the faint traces of unique magical energies. Problem was they were all faint no matter where he was or what he did the secrets of the stones were hidden deep and the magical energies kept quiet. Draco may not be interested in uncovering these secrets, but when his house had been broken into the hunt had began and he wanted to get the prey first.

* * *

Ginevra turned the lock in the front door and made a sign of protection in front of it with her wand. Repeating the sweeping motions she headed to each of the stores windows. Once the guards were up she closed her eyes, breathed deeply and opened her natural senses, she felt the calming sensations from the store and directed it into her body. Using that energy she doubled the strength of her protective spells. She knew there were people near her home at night that lingered when they shouldn't, not just drunk men on the way home to their beds, but men with a purpose and she had no way of telling if they were deceitful while her barriers were up. Although they couldn't penetrate the barrier to get in, neither could she to see out at their intent. Feeling safe however, Ginevra picked up her candle and headed upstairs to the living quarters.

With the light of the candle lighting her way, she dressed for bed and picked up one of her old volumes. Getting in under the covers she opened the pages and began to read some more of the old text. Some of these old texts were so fascinating, almost as good as the sensation novels she bought at the corner shop. Tonight however, the stories were not holding her attention as much as other nights and she found she had read the page without taking in any of the words. Her eyes had glazed over and she found herself thinking of the gentleman who had entered the store so briefly. He had been so stunning and aloof looking and also a little abrupt thought Ginny frowning. Confidence and power had been her first thoughts and she had honestly wondered why he had entered her store with seemingly no purpose. He was so tall though she thought smiling, clear eyes and light hair pulled back he had definitely been an extremely well off man. Extremely well built as well.

Unconsciously, she had moved to the window once he left the store and had watched him travel across the street and enter his carriage. She had been a bit put out that he had been smirking slightly, almost as if he was sharing a personal joke. Like he had just achieved something and she wondered whether it might be at her expense. Ginevra decided not to let it bother her though, she wouldn't see him again. She doubted whether she would ever forget his striking face though, he had been so attractive and she smiled again and gave up on her book. Blowing out the candle she got comfortable in the sheets and slept. Ginny slept peacefully unaware of the shadows hiding people watching.

The following morning Ginevra felt much more rested. The wards hadn't been disrupted during the night, a first since the following week and she hadn't woken till the sun began to rise. She was cheerful and relaxed, setting the table up for breakfast. Her father hadn't risen but she would bring him breakfast she thought to herself. It's going to be a good day today thought Ginevra to herself. Opening the bedroom window she could see other businesses getting ready for the day. Ginevra found herself looking forward to the day. It could usually be very monotonous staying home to look after her father and the shop but Ginevra felt something was going to happen today. She thought to herself that life will get exciting from now on.


End file.
